Interfaith Worker Justice v. Department of Labor

This case challenged the Department of Labor’s refusal to release the names of workers owed back wages under federal back wage settlements whom the Department was been unable to locate. Public Citizen represented Interfaith Worker Justice, a Chicago-based workers’ rights organization, which requested the names of such workers in order to be able to help connect the workers to the back wages they were owed. Although releasing the names could benefit the workers, the Department of Labor initially denied the request, contending that releasing the names would be an unwarranted invasion of the workers’ privacy. After Public Citizen filed the lawsuit, however, the Department agreed to release the names.